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Smart Objects were introduced in CS2. Smart Filters, which are an order of magnitude cooler still, were introduced in CS3.

And for those who are curious, significant new features of CS4 include the ability to rotate the canvas (much like Corel Painter), content-aware scaling, some minor 3d function, 64-bit support, and OpenGL display acceleration. Handy, but not as big a deal as the Smart Objects/Filters.

CS1 has better 16-bit support than 7 if that floats your boat. It did for me till I gained the ability to run Wilbur. Now I do most of my high-bit greyscale editing in Wilbur and mostly just do the 8-bit rgb stuff in PS. I still use CS1 exclusively for two reasons: 7 doesn't seem to run in OS X 10.5, I still can't afford the $300.00 to get the academic version of CS4. I've really been looking forward to Smart Filters and now I want Smart Objects.

At the moment, I'm hoping to find a copy of CS2 or CS3 someplace (preferably legitimate). I downloaded the trial of CS4, and the UI's been changed enough that it just feels wonky to me - wonky enough that I don't care to use it in the slightest, 3D additions or no. I think I'm going to try to get CS3, if I can, for the smart filters. I only somewhat understand what they are, because I haven't researched them, much, but if they're what I think they are, then I definitely should try to get them.

The trick is just in finding one that doesn't reek of "bootleg masquerading as legitimate under a half-way price." (COUGHEBAYCOUGH) I even went to the trouble of calling Adobe to check; they just flat out don't offer any software other than the absolute newest version of each program. I'm curious what they do with surplus copies of already-produced CS3's, for example, but think I'm probably better off not knowing. >.>

If anyone has any ideas for locating a legitimate copy of CS3, I'm all ears. I'm going to be calling some of the local retailers today to see if any of them happen to have one hidden in a back room or something, but I highly doubt it.

Hrm, I hadn't thought to check that, yet. Good idea, Steel. The downside is that they're closed for the day, but I'm going to have to get off my lazy bum and go down there to see what I need for classes on the 17th, anyway, so I'll take a look there, too.